Naruto: The Path of a Shinobi
by arcalv01
Summary: The Kyuubi No Yoko comes to a realization that if he is to survive the soul he is now linked to must live and for that to happen he must aide the one that controls the body that houses his power and soul.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The ninja must master many skills throughout his career, be it assassination, stealth, speed, and strength(of the Mind and Body). The Kyuubi No Yoko comes to a realization that if he is to survive the soul he is now linked to must live and for that to happen he must aide the one that controls the body that houses his power and soul.

Special Recognition: I don't own any of the characters only the flow of the plot. I would like to also lay a special thanks for the idea of (Dokushu) from Kairomaru this idea is awesome and thank you for whatever stray thought bought this idea into being it rocks. I will state that though this is my first attempt I do hope it goes well. Thanks and enjoy! Oh also there will be no BELIEVE ITS after this one or excess use of neon orange.

Chapter 1

"Dead Demon Consuming Seal" the Forth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, yells. A blinding flash of light appears and the Kyuubi No Yoko, Nine Tailed Fox, is sealed away into a young child left on a alter. As a large red seal fades from view from the child's skin one can only think of what hardships this Jinchuriki, Human Sacrifice, will live through.

**A Unknown Location**

In a eternity of dark nothingness two angry red eyes open. These eyes promise death and destruction, pain and misery, and a fight with no signs of mercy. The eyes are followed by a mouth opening revealing long sharp fangs poised to rip and tear the first thing it sees to pieces. The entirety of the monster, demon, the Kyuubi comes into view. Large body covered in blood red fur, long limbs of a fox with sharp claws used to shred anything that is a threat or food. The monster lets out a loud roar not realizing no-one was there to hear it.

"Madara!" the Kyuubi roars, "I will kill you for your insolence. You dare poison my mind with your cursed eyes again, I will have your soul to devour."

The Kyuubi takes in his surroundings realizing that he is alone in a dark empty space, but as he focuses he sees the outlines of a seal and a cage that imprisons him. His eyes flash between anger and hopelessness for once again after just moments of tasted freedom he is once again imprisoned against his will. He lashes out at this new cage desperate for weakness's that he knows he will not find. The seals are always the same strong and unwavering. He lays head for a moment of silent defeat and understanding of his plight. After what could have been hours the Kyuubi raises his head to study the seal that now controls his fate.

Years of being sealed into the two Uzumaki's before this new cage lead him to learning much about the nearly lost art of Fuinjutsu. It was one of the most complicated pieces of Jutsu knowledge. After what seemed like hours of study he came to the shocking realization that there was no escape from this new prison. The seal was a work of Art, the likes he had never seen nor thought possible. To actually use the Death God himself at the cost of one's soul must be either very brave or extremely stupid. The result was a tying of his soul to that of the soul of his new host to such a degree that if the body of his host died and there was nothing to anchor their souls they would both die. His eyes went wide at this realization to survive his host would have to, to live for the years he was accustomed his host would have to. He came to the moment where he thought of only helping his new host make his body stronger, faster, and senses better to survive the world that is filled with death and danger. The seal flashed and he saw his only hope, it would take years of work on his part, but he must use his power to give this new host the tools to survive. He would change his' hosts bodies make, not to use his power because no human could survive long term just using Youki(Demon Energy). No he would use his power to alter his host, starting with his cells working up to his muscles and bones, and make him truly strong. That decision would change everything for the Kyuubi No Yoko.

**Mindscape 4 Years Later**

Red eyes flash open full of worry and pain. The Kyuubi doesn't know what is happening, tired from a long day of controlling his Youki at a fine level to alter his hosts body chemistry it takes him a moment to realize what is happening. His host, named Uzumaki Naruto, was struggling to stay alive. Over the years the he had changed Naruto's body enough to give the boy a formidable regenerative ability, a mile stone he was glad he had reached, the problem was it seemed to be losing this sudden fight to keep the body alive. He comes to the understanding that Naruto has been poisoned by staggering number of poisons, everything from poisons to numb muscles from pain to poisons designed to cause cellular death throughout the body. The Kyuubi desperate and tired floods Naruto's body full of his Youki hoping to help fight off the poisons and bring the outcome of this battle to stay alive to Naruto's advantage.

Something happens that is so startling he half thinks it's a figment of his own imagination. His Youki pours through Naruto's Chakra pathways pulling along the boys own large chakra reserves for his age with it. The two energy flood the body pulling all of the poison out of his body and into the boys Chakra reserves. Two immediate things the Kyuubi notices, is that to his surprise his desperate plea worked and it expanded the boys Chakra pathways and reserves tremendously. This little fight to live just made the boy considerably in an instant, the Kyuubi laughed full of this happy moment he almost missed the biggest change of them all.

He took a closer look at the boys Chakra, it was now far denser thanks to the successful mixing of his Youki with the boys Chakra which would mean that the boy would need far less Chakra to produce the abilities that all ninja use Chakra for. Though this would lead to problems with control but the Kyuubi made a mental note that if he ever got the chance to speak to Naruto it would be one of the first commands he gave the boy 'You ape work on Chakra control so you don't waist all your energy and get us killed'. Though this happy gift from the troubling circumstance that had just accord wasn't the real surprise, in the boys Chakra now flowed small traces of all the poisons that had just tried to kill them. The poisons flowed through the body but caused no harm in fact the body thrived as if the poisons were now a part of the bodies daily routine. He also noticed that the poison was slowly being produced by the Chakra of the boy as though it was always supposed to .

The Kyuubi was full of shock and awe, happiness that they had survived another attempt of their lives, sadness that it was another attempt in a long line of attempts. This village Konohagakure was a sad twisted place to want a four year old dead. The Kyuubi then smiled as a thought crossed his mind that he had to voice full of mirth. "Uzumaki Naruto No Dokushu(The Poison Master), The Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi No Yoko. Hee Hee Hee, Yes I could live with being the partner in combat with one with such a Name." He then closed his eyes in exhaustion ready for a good rest before he got back to fixing the problem that was the human body of his host.

**6 Years After the Night of Kyuubi's Attack**

Naruto wakes up from another dream of peaceful life full of love and a familly, only to frown knowing it wasn't meant to be that way as his life was full of strife. He kicked of the covers that covered his bed ready to greet another lonely depressing day. He went to his shower and finished his normal routine of a very fast cold shower as there never was any hot water in his apartment. This annoyance he would never complain about after the four months on the street he had to endure after being kicked out of the orphanage on his 5th birthday.

He slowly gets dressed and ready to get a few things done. He needed to clean his apartment and go buy food, we try to buy food as the stores normally wouldn't allow him to buy much of anything. As he cleaned his apartment his thoughts wondered to one of the ever circling questions. Why was he alone? He remembered when he asked Sarutobi Hiruzen or as he called him 'Hokage-jiji'. Jiji was the guy in charge of the entire Village that he lived in and was one of the only people that treated him nicely. He cared deeply for the old man but knew he knew more than he ever let on but he would always let questions go fearing that he would loose the old man if he ever pushed for answers. The old man always answered that question the same way your parents were ninja that died during the Kyuubi attack. This would prompt Naruto to ask who they were and the Hokage would always tell Naruto that because of safety reasons he couldn't tell him until he was older.

Naruto finished cleaning his apartment and decided to get an early start on his shopping hoping to find fewer people on the streets. As he set out to get his shopping done he walked quietly hoping not to attract any attention to himself but that hope was not to be as he started to here the ever following comments 'There it is', 'The Demon should just die', 'Son/Daughter stay away from that boy he is only trouble'. He held in the tears determined not to cry in front of these people. As he arrived at the grocery that was closest to his apartment and would sell him food he was greeted with hate filled stares and whispering comments. When he went to pay for his food which consisted of coups of instant ramen as he expected he paid well over three times the listed price, but he didn't argue or he might not get that. He did like ramen but he always wanted to get different things but this was the only thing he could get and still afford with the stipend he got from the Hokage per month.

He was finished with his purchasing when the other questions that surrounded his life circled in his head. Why does everyone hate me? Why am I treated this way when I haven't done anything? He hated the looks these people gave and the constant whispers he would hear from all the villagers. A thought popped into his head that shook him to his core. What can I do to stop them? As he thought about this questions an idea came that might answer this question. His dream was to be a ninja and when he thought about it, ninja were always treated properly and respected could he become a ninja and be strong enough to get people to respect him and stop their evil looks and comments. He decided right there and then that he would be a ninja and that meant that he had to go talk to Jiji.

**1 Hour Later Hokage's Office**

Naruto was walking up to the Hokage's building where all of the important decisions that had to do with the Village were voted on and decided. As he entered he asked jiji's secretary, "Is Hokage-jiji busy today? I would like to ask him something its very important." The secretary looked at him with dislike but new not to turn him away unless the Hokage was actually busy, because the Hokage liked to spend time with the little monster as she saw it. She answered, "No he isn't nock on his door and ask to come in." "Thank you," he answered her with a smile. He walked over to the large double door and like so many times he bravely knocked. An answer came quickly, "Come in", a rough scratchy voice said.

**At the Same Time**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage, was sitting at his desk trying to find something to do to get his mind off of the endless chore of paperwork that he day in and day out struggled to keep up with. He ideally looked over to the picture of the young fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, "How did you always seem to get done with all this so quickly? Tell me your secret." he annoyingly demanded the picture of 6 year dead man. As he stared at the picture he would swear that it was smirking at him. Frustrated he turned to look out the window of his office and gazed out over the beautiful sight of the village Konohagakure that he lead. He was then reminded of one of the not so beautiful acts of this village, how it treated its Jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto the son of the late fourth Hokage. Of course no-one but a handful of people knew the secret of who Naruto's father actually was. He again looked at the picture of Minato and asked," Am I doing the right thing not telling him." The picture he thought for an instance looked sad and understanding at that very moment. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock which he answered "Come in."

Naruto walked in seeing the man he thought of as a grandfather and a man that always had one of the few smiles he ever got directed towards him. "Hey jiji how are you", he ran over and gave the old man a strong hung. The Hokage chuckled hugging the boy in return. "It's good to see you today Naruto, what brings you here today. Did you want to go get lunch with this old man," said the old Hokage with large smile on his face. Naruto's face lit up with a smile then instantly got thoughtful, which Hiruzen saw easily.

The aged Hokage was interested in the thoughtful look that Naruto had given him just then. He got his answer "Jiji I want to be a ninja!" said the young blond full serious determination. He blinked a little surprised at the determination in the voice of his surrogate grandson. He began to think about the demand from the ball of energy, 'This is the most emotion I have seen in him that seems to be genuinely a positive request.' His eyes breifly flashed over to the picture of the boys father and he got his answer, Minato's face had a smile and reasurance. The old man knew he would say yes but there were other things to weight as thoughts quickly flashed through his head, 'Would the teachers at the academy teach him properly.' That wavering thought would set Naruto onto becoming the greatest ninja in the elemental countries. Hiruzen knew he would have to help in some way knowing that the teachers would probably hold a grudge against Naruto and the burden he bears for the entire village. He said with a smile, "Yes Naruto I believe that is a splended idea."

Naruto's face lit up and smiled that light blinding smile the Hokage knew was reserved for so few. "Ya! I am going to be a ninja, wohoo!," yelled Naruto as jumped around exited then ran towards the old man tackling him in a huge. "Thanks jiji this is such an awesome day, YA." Tears of joy could be seen in the young blonds eyes as he seemed on top of the world.

Hiruzen knew this was the moment were he could influence how Naruto would treat his training to become a ninja. He needed to get the boy start with the best foundation, because he knew that Naruto had the making of becoming one of the greatest ninjas if he was given the tools of success. "Yes Naruto this is exciting, but I need you to sit down so we can talk about this OK." he said with a serious tone that the young blond picked up on really quick. They both came went to sit on the couch in his office. Hiruzen took a moment to collect his thoughts to decide exactly what he wanted to tell the young ninja hopeful. "Ok Naruto first things first I want you know the absolute most important tool to being a ninja. The most important tools are not speed, strength, jutsus, or even stealth. These skills are necessary but the most important tools that all really outstanding ninja need knowledge and unwavering determination." These words set the room to being very quiet, Hiruzen knew from Naruto's raised eyebrows and the understanding look in his eyes that he had the boys unwavering attention. Then he said with a serious tone "The four Hokages myself included are not only powerful but incredibly intelligent. This is why I am known to the shinobi world as 'The Professor', it's because of my vast knowledge in all areas that a ninja must know of. Do you understand?"

Naruto looked at the Hokage and the picture of the legendary four great leaders, then deep down he knew his jiji would not lead him astray. He understood one must train the mind more than the body, not to say he wouldn't train to fast and strong physically but ones true strength was from his ability to out think his opponent. This was the moment when in the future this rising great ninja would look back and say 'That is the exact moment I dedicated myself to perfection of the mind and body'. "Yes jiji I understand a ninja must always think ahead before acting in a physical way, you are saying the mind is in charge of the body not the other way around right," He said with a confident air about him determination showing in his bright blue eyes.

The Hokage smiled a proud feel of love came over him as he looked at the young blond. While placing his hand on the young boys head he said, "Exactly Naruto I can see you are already on your way to becoming a truly remarkable ninja. To help you on your path I have some gifts for you." He moved over to a hidden shelf in a wall with some of his personal scrolls from over the years he collected 7 scrolls all detailing different aspects or skills for a ninja. As he brought the scrolls over to Naruto he spoke, "Ok Naruto these scrolls are to help you gain a early understanding of all of the key skills that make up being a great ninja. These five detail the 5 arts that a ninja must understand that utilize the bodies energy known as Chakra." He saw that Naruto was about to shout out a question but he gently silenced him. "Now the 5 skills are Genjustu the ability to cloud the opponents mind with illusions, Ninjutsu the physical powers we ninja utilize like Fire Balls to Rock Slides, Taijutsu the ability to fight physically with one's body like kicks and punches, Fuinjutsu the ability to utilize seals like are explosive notes but these also include a wide variety of uses that you would have to dedicate years of study and patience to use, and finally Kenjutsu or fighting with a weapon all ninjas need to be familiar with weapons." The old man hands the boy the first five scrolls and notices that Naruto handles them with care and respect. Hiruzen takes up the next scroll that is a little bit larger than the other scrolls individually, "Naruto this is a scroll that I myself wrote to explain the process of finding ones Chakra and then later it explains the Hand Seals on uses to shape chakra. After that it describes the ways of gaining precise control over one's Chakra." He then hands this scroll over to the boy preparing to explain that last one. "Now this one is different this scroll tells of the non Chakra intense skills a ninja must have. In this scroll the skills like Stealth, Capture of the Enemy, Interrogation, use of Poisons, and examples of steps to get one's Physical body up to top performance without injuring the body. These are skill that should never be overlooked." He sees the boy except the last scroll look at them collect his thoughts and say with a happy and determined smile "I will study hard and become the greatest of ninja." "Good Naruto I am sure you will make me proud, now you must use your time wisely and prepare because you have only 9 short months to get prepared before you are enrolled into the ninja academy ok." Naruto nods and the old man smiles. "Now I can see you are excited to get started, I suggest you start your studies with the scroll on finding Chakra ok. We can have lunch tomorrow." He then raises his head and calls out, "Inu" A gravy defying silver haired man with a dog mask appears swiftly. "Yes Hokage-Sama" the man answered with respect. "I want you to escort Naruto back to his apartment so he can begin his studies." he turns to Naruto and says, "Make me proud my boy" the old man smiles as he watches young blond leave knowing that this was the right decision as he looks out onto the village and he swears it's a little brighter.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: The ninja must master many skills throughout his career, be it assassination, stealth, speed, and strength(of the Mind and Body). The Kyuubi No Yoko comes to a realization that if he is to survive the soul he is now linked to must live and for that to happen he must aide the one that controls the body that houses his power and soul.

Special Recognition: I don't own any of the characters only the flow of the plot. I would like to also lay a special thanks for the idea of (Dokushu) from Kairomaru this idea is awesome and thank you for whatever stray thought bought this idea into being it rocks. I will state that though this is my first attempt I do hope it goes well. Thanks and enjoy! Oh also there will be no BELIEVE ITS after this one or excess use of neon orange.

Chapter 2

**2 Weeks After the Talk With the Hokage**

Naruto is seated on his bed trying to find his Chakra, his eyes are shut tight as he tried to center himself an meditate. His breath came to was even and heartbeat steady, 'why wasn't this working' he thought with annoyance. It had been 2 weeks and he had tried everything from trying to be calm to trying to empty his head of stray thoughts, which was difficult for a 6yr old. Keeping his eyes closed he tried again to calm himself and match his breath to his heartbeat, he waited minutes or even hours went by. Suddenly he got a feeling of a vast easy and comfortable warmth radiating from him and he tried to reach for it. Then a flash and what happened there was nothing that could have prepared him.

**Location Unknown**

Naruto looked around and could see nothing but vast empty space, but that couldn't be because his feet could feel the ground. The ground came into existence almost as soon as he pondered the question, then he saw it a faint red glow 'what is that' he thought. There in front of him was something large and red with kind eyes and a surprised expression on its face.

Kyuubi looked at Naruto with surprise, he was sure it was all over his face, he was so distracted from this puzzling turn of events that he said the first thing that popped into his head "**Hello"** he said sounding amused.

Naruto was shocked but for some reason he wasn't afraid of the large red, for lack of a better word 'monster. Why wasn't he afraid, well it had to be that the creature looked as surprised as he surely looked. Plus the creature had a very amused expression on its face. The creature seemed to collect himself rite as soon as Naruto answered "Whaa !" as he arched his eyebrow. The creature smiled showing big teeth, but again not at all scary, and repeated "**Hello Naruto, I was hoping to meet you soon but you did get to this place far sooner than I thought you would." **Naruto now even more confused said very rapidly "What are you?" he shouted. He quickly realized how that must have sounded and timidly said "sorry, I mean who are you?"

Kyuubi looked down at the small boy and chuckled, "**Can't you guess?" **he questioned. The boy seemed to take a step back as to look at his hole form. He slowly raised all of his tails and gently flexed them to make them obvious. He saw the widening of the boys eyes and then the very clear realization of who he was claiming to be. Kyuubi waited for the burst of noise and questions for he knew he wouldn't have to wait for very long.

Naruto had just realized that the creature that was sitting in front of him was claiming to be 'The Kyuubi No Yoko'. That can't be can it, he pondered. "You're supposed to be dead" not yelling but decidedly pointing at the creature. **"Dead?" **the now identified Kyuubi questioned. "**No, I am not dead just sealed away"** the Kyuubi pointedly stated. Naruto was flustered and it plainly showed in his next words "No, the fourth killed you". "Well at least that is what everyone says anyway," he took a thoughtful expression. He looked around again and pondered what the Kyuubi said again, and the thought was on him so fast it nearly knocked him down. "You're sealed in me?" he asked. "**Yes" **the Kyuubi answered with a nod. "Since your fight with the fourth?" "**Yes, I have been sealed in you since the day of your birth and my defeat." "**That's why they call me a demon, the villagers I mean" "**Yes this is probably the reason, and it is something we can't change" **the Kyuubi said sounding consoling. The attitude of the Kyuubi was startling and comforting to Naruto. "You're not all that mean, why?" he asked.

The Kyuubi looked at the young boy and realized, he had had 6yrs to come to terms with his lot in life now. He took care of Naruto from the shadows where very few did or tried to help. He had come to think of the young boy as something he must protect, which of course he had to. He answered "**Well to answer that question simply, you must survive if I want to survive. That of course is because if you were to die I would die, but if you continue to live I will continue to live." "**Why?" Naruto asked. **"Simple, when the Fourth Hokage sealed me into you it tied our souls together in a way that makes us connected in a few bazaar ways." **The question the Kyuubi knew was coming came and he had to answer it delicately because though he knew he couldn't lie the boy didn't. "Does that make me you?" Naruto asked with fear in his voice. The Kyuubi looked at the boy and shook his head "**No, we are still very separate. Could you see me dealing with the way those villagers treat you the way you do? No I don't think we are so similar to be called the same, but there are of course differences and similarities here and there." **This was when Naruto sighed in relief then stated angrily that Kyuubi had attacked his village. The argument began with Naruto yelling about it was all the Kyuubi's fault that his life was like this. The Kyuubi countered stating that Uchiha Madara had cast a powerful Genjutsu onto him causing him to lose his will and was forced to attack the boy's village.

Naruto's questions kept coming until he stopped to look at the Kyuubi and realized that throughout his interrogation Kyuubi answered every question calmly with understanding behind his voice. Naruto thought of what he had heard about Kyuubi, 'a mindless monster, a creature that had no pity, a force of nature that never questioned why or what it destroyed', and realized that the Kyuubi in front of him didn't seem that way. "How do I know you are speaking the truth?" he asked. "**The simplest way to answer that question is, there is no way for either of us to lie to the other inside this shared mindscape. Our connected souls just don't allow it?"**

Kyuubi looked at Naruto and knew that they had come to an understanding from the realization he saw in the boys face. "What do we do from here?" Naruto asked as he sat down in front of him. "**Well hopefully we can work together so that we can continue to live. I myself have spent these 6yrs slowly using my Youki, demon energy, to alter your bodies chemistry so that it can heal faster and your bones and muscles will be stronger. These steps are slow but have many added benefits that I'm sure you have appreciated over the years, how long do you think you would have had to stay in the hospital every time those villagers hurt you over the years."** Naruto thought about this and knew that he healed very fast but had never thought of why he did. "What do we do? I can't just tell others that I can speak to you, that would get me killed. The villagers would attack me more often, I wouldn't be safe walking down the street." Naruto worried about the future that he would have to live through.

The Kyuubi was relieved that the boy understood enough that they needed to work together for each of their own safety. He made a mental list of what needed to be discussed now and what could be told later. "**You are correct, I will continue to make your body better able to handle the dangers you will face in the future. Over the years you will find that your muscles and bones will be stronger than others, this doesn't mean you will get to take it easy in physical training. Also I suggest you take the practice of a ninja, hiding your true strengths, to heart. You will be less likely to attract attention to yourself if you're not seen as a threat."**

Naruto nods understanding that hiding ones true strength was one of the first suggestions in the book that jiji gave him. "I don't think it is best to tell anyone of my knowing that you exist anytime soon, do you agree?" Kyuubi nods his agreement silently thanking the intelligence that his young host seems to have. "Is there any quick thoughts that need to happen now that you can tell me?" Kyuubi began to tell Naruto about how he should first focus on his Chakra until he can draw on it quickly without being in a meditative state. He goes onto tell Naruto of his apparent ability to create poisons with his Chakra and how he came about this unique strength. He also explains the importance of a more healthy diet and all of the skills he should learn and master. Naruto leaves Kyuubi to his rest and exits the mindscape with plans to become truly strong rolling through his brain. He was truly glad to have a ally now so close and ready to help.

(Author Note: You will Just have to accept that Kyuubi truly is spending all his time and concentrations on improving the body of the boy. He understands he will not be able to ever control the boys mind and steal the body for himself. The two of them will not be able to separate their souls and live but a spoiler they will fight side by side in the future, to protect those who are precious to Naruto. Not to say that Kyuubi isn't going to be vicious in battle, because hey he is not a big fluffy bunny. )

**Naruto's Apartment an Hour Later**

Naruto comes out of his meditative state and blinks reflecting on the one on one talk he had with Kyuubi. 'There is so much that I will have to learn and master before all of this is over' he thought. He looks over at the clock that is in his room realizing not nearly as much time passed as he thought would have. 'I must gain a strong hold on my Chakra first before beginning anything else, I will start with this and work on being able to gain a hold on my Chakra without needing to meditate.' As a few minutes pass his stomach growls and he walks into his kitchen to check and see if he has anything to eat. He finds as he suspected, he had nothing that would do well for the high calorie and protein diet he would need for the training he would be starting. How will I ever succeed if I don't have the proper food to eat? He is saddened that this is such a hamper to his overall goal and it is only the beginning, 'wait doesn't jiji have people watching me to make sure I'm ok? What was the name of the Anbu that helped when I talked with jiji? he questioned himself. "Inu-san are you there , I would like to ask you something?" Moments later a swirl of leaves signaled the arrival of a ninja.

Hayate Kakashi was stationed just outside Naruto's apartment, keeping the son of his late sensei safe, when he heard his Anbu code-name being said. 'Naruto just called out for me, does he need help? No it seemed more like questioning to see if I was actually here.' the silver haired ninja thought. He used the _Body Flicker Jutsu_to quickly get into the young blonds apartment. When he got there he found the boy in his kitchen smiling at him. "Inu-san you were there, how are you?" the young blond asked. "I am fine Naruto, did you need something or did you just want to see if I was there?" "Oh! I was getting ready to fix some lunch and realized that I didn't have any food and wondered if you could help me get some?" Naruto looked down knowing that if he didn't get help he would never have the proper food for a well balanced diet. Kakashi looked at the boy knowing exactly why Naruto had asked this of him. 'Why must the villagers treat him this way sensei?' he thought. 'Sensei I will help him as much as I can and this can be a start' "Yes, I believe I can help you get a well balanced meal for the rising ninja in training," he said with a kind tone. "How about I set it up with the Hokage to have me get you your groceries every week." Naruto's smile that was so rare lit up the room, 'there may be hope for this boy to have some small happiness' "Will you, Thanks Inu-san." With that Kakashi disappeared leaving only spinning leaves not knowing that Naruto would remember this for the rest of his life as one of the many times his future sensei and friend had helped him.

**The End of the Second Month Since the Talk with the Hokage**

Naruto wakes up because of his alarm, he looks over to the clock and it read 4am. He sighs, shuts off the alarm kicks off his covers and hurries to get a short cold shower to help further wake himself up. After he gets done getting dressed for the day he goes into his kitchen and starts cooking a high energy filled breakfast. While he is cooking and then eating he ponders what he has accomplished over the almost 2 months since he started to change everything. It had taken little over a month to be able to access his Chakra without meditation. He could now take hold of his Chakra with just a thought but at the moment it was little more than a uncontrolled flow of energy, hence his nightly sessions of Chakra control practice. He had been waking up this early everyday for a month starting his day with a 6hr work out plan that he and Kyuubi agreed would help use his abundance of energy in a productive way that would increase his speed and flexibility the most, without relying on his strength.

5am signaled he was to be finished eating and cleaning up and ready for his 2hr warm up run around the village. He used this time to make sure he was lose and ready for the other steps later. He had noticed that he was getting faster but it would be a slow journey to getting truly fast, but hey you have to start out somewhere. He finished his 2hr run and prepared for an hour of targeted stretches for flexibility of his muscles all over his body. The Taijustu scroll that jiji had given him had informed him of the importance of being swift and flexible if you wanted to be a ninja. Years of work on the part of Kyuubi had geared Naruto's muscles to be the best for flexible and speedy attacks so Naruto stressed those points. 8am signaled him to start a 1hr round of mild muscle strengthening workouts, he wanted to make sure that he didn't damage his muscles early on before he was ready for more intense muscle workouts. He also did short sprints to help get him to be able to have explosive starts, because one of the scrolls had said that sometimes a battle can be won if one ninja can surprise and defeat their opponent quickly. A 1hr practice of basic bunches and kicks that he got out of the scroll was next to be practiced. He didn't have a style yet, but the scroll did describe the most basic movements of strikes that most all other styles build upon, so he practiced the very basic steps. At 10 am it signaled that it was time to start getting ready for a 1hr cool down job and an hour to eat so he could be ready to start his work on Fuinjustu.

**2 Months Later **

Naruto finished putting away the last of his dishes ready to start working on his 3hrs of hand writing, calligraphy(brush work), and Fuinjustu study. His hand writing was slowly getting better and it required less time for him to get the words on the paper. He was determined to be ready to take notes in class by the time of academy, he didn't want to give the teachers any reason to doc-points if he could help it. The calligraphy work was going to be a slow and steady work that would get better the more time he put into it. He knew through the decisions with Kyuubi that seal work could be very powerful and since it was normally forgotten by most ninja it could turn into a unexpected edge one day. **~Flashback~** Kyuubi was looking at the boy as he got ready to explain the potential of the art of Fuinjustu. He knew it was a extremely powerful tool but how to word it to make a young kid interested. "**Alright Naruto it is time for a discussion about Fuinjustu. I am not going to sugar coat it, this will be a project that will take years to master. It will take time to get to a stage were the seals will be really useable in combat. You must keep working because if you can master the art, you will be one of the few in the entire ninja villages that has." **Naruto looked excited but a little putout, not having the patience that he would gain later through years of hard work. "So it will be years until anything is really usable, isn't better to put more time into other things so we know we master those skills." Kyuubi thought on what Naruto said and had to say he could see where he was going with that arguments. "**Yes it will take years of hard work, but later if you could master seals you could learn many creative things. Some examples are stopping a ninja's movement by sealing the signals from the brain to muscles, with this you could quickly take control of a fight. There is also some seal work that I have heard can be applied to the body to speed up physical training by making harder to move, which works the muscles that much harder without the added weight that could damage a child's body. The biggest benefit though is that through seals you could find a way to give me a body so that I can aide you in battle. Though you will never be able to sever the connection over our souls.**" Naruto thought for a moment and saw the upper hand he would have over an opponent if he had the help of Kyuubi, so he agreed. **~Flashback End~** So he studied the first scroll and worked on his brush work and penmanship. (Author's Note - The Kyuubi has a lot of knowledge on seals but they only include demon imprisoning seals so he will not be much help with Naruto's studies until Jiraiya takes him on the 3yr study, which will most defiantly kick ass. Also the two can communicate without meditation but with all of Kyuubi's concentration on strengthening Naruto's body it is really not productive for lengthy chats.)

**1 Month Later**

The fifth month of Naruto's new training we find him starting his study of poisons and their uses at 3pm. This has quickly become one of his more pleasant times to study. He enjoys researching and studying all of the low level poisons at the moment. He had taken the task of learning everything about poisons, from planting, gathering, preparation, and creating antidotes. He had already planted 5 of the most common plants used in poisons, he used his second room to grow them. He tended his plants and took notes on ideas of expanding his garden in the future.

The last hour of the 3hr time slot he had dedicated to the study of poisons is dedicated to trying to separate the poison Chakra from the regular Chakra. This was by far the most difficult and time consuming event on his daily schedule. He started off just trying to find the poisons' Chakra which turned out to be far more difficult than even just finding his normal Chakra. He had finally been able to track it as it flowed through his Chakra coils but then came the step of pulling only that type of Chakra when he wanted. This one act would turn out to be the most difficult, but after almost 6 months, since the Hokage's push for knowledge, he could finally with intense concentration and meditation he could pull only his poison Chakra out through his pathways. He felt such accomplishment but quickly realized that this was just the first step. He would have to learn to do this instantly without meditation, and if that wasn't enough even now he knew that he could never do anything with this Chakra until he could isolate each type of poison so that he could use them. That thought seemed insurmountable but he had big plans for this weapon and he would succeed, because he knew if his plans for _Poison Art ~ The Den-Mock_ (the Death Touch) he would have to demand perfection from himself. After the milestone is accomplished he starts to get ready to make his dinner before he goes out to let off a little steam or plan for his next prank.

**3 Months Later**

Naruto had just finished eating his dinner and was getting dressed in a dark gray outfit. This outfit consisted of a gray sleeveless shirt that allowed easy movement and flexibility, his pants had multiple large pockets that allowed for him to hold multiple small notepads for planning. His pants also gathered rather snuggly at his ankles and waist but left his legs plenty of room for swift runs and comfortable times when he stayed very still for long periods of time. His shoes where light ninja sandals, because they caused no extra noise when he needed to be stealthy. The finishing piece of equipment was the pattern covering cloak and hood that allowed him to blend into the shadows that much easier. He had a small assortment of tools which every stealthy rogue would need also.

He was ready to go on his night time stress relief of prancing or planning a more difficult prank. He smiled as he left his home and locked up, 'Tonight will be fun as always' he thought with an ever growing smirk on his face. That clothing store woman that yelled at him for passing the storefront when he had been following a different mark had a well placed stink bomb with her name on it. His mind wandered back to the moment he realized just how productive these pranks could be. **~Flashback~** It was a night during the fifth month of his heavy study load, Naruto looks out from a shadowed corner watching the fat man that he planned to prank. He rubbed his eyes, trying to find away to prank this man was becoming stressful, 'It has been 3 days and I still can't find an opening to prank him in the open without getting caught' he screamed in his mind. This was his toughest mark yet. A thought struck him 'This must be what ninjas go through when they have a hard time of getting information without being notice' he thought glumly. Moments passed, his eyebrows went up to his hair line and he almost screamed out loud in realization but he was able to stop himself. This was huge in his mind 'I will do this from now on. I will find hard marks to prank to increase my skills in stealth and information gathering. How did it take me this long to figure this out?' he berated himself. He set out with new determination to make bigger and better pranks. **~Flashback End~** He smiled remembering that successful prank as he moved into the shadows. He had a certain civilian head to prank and it had been two weeks in the making. The Anbu that were on duty to watch out for him had the pleasure to see the fruits of his labor. They never reported him, because he never caused any damage to his marks except extreme embarrassment, over the years they would start to call him 'The Watchful Shadow' with a happy pride in the boys growth.

**The Night Before Academy Starts**

Naruto has just got back from a most successful prank filled adventure. He sat down for 2hrs of Chakra control exercises before bed. He reached over picked up a leaf and places it onto his forehead where it remains. The leaf sticking exercise was the first step in the scroll that jiji gave him that stressed the importance of Chakra control. This step allows for a ninja to practice directing Chakra to a specific location on the skin in just the right amount to cause the leaf to stick to the skin. This was rather hard for him at first because his Chakra was so dense that it was hard to limit to just enough but he had finally accomplished this about 4 months earlier. Naruto then after moments of concentration moves his hand to grab another leaf from the pile of 10 leaves. Naruto took the explanation from the scroll differently than most people would, he decided he needed to be able to split his concentration as many times as possible to get the best results. Naruto had accidently unlocked the steps of training that would lead to his mastery over his poison Chakra because he would need the ability to differentiate between multiple types of poisons later down the road. He settled into a comfortable rhythm of adding an extra leaf every few moments until he had maximum number he could accomplish. He then began think about what would tomorrow bring. He knew he would only show just enough of his skills to pass he didn't need to put the village on alert. He would be the best, but the best ninja needed to be an unknown, but only with himself knowing it. He let out a calming breath and got back to limiting his Chakra to the bare minimum to hold each leaf to his skin, than he would try to limit it even more so to not let any Chakra go unused.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: The ninja must master many skills throughout his career, be it assassination, stealth, speed, and strength(of the Mind and Body). The Kyuubi No Yoko comes to a realization that if he is to survive the soul he is now linked to must live and for that to happen he must aide the one that controls the body that houses his power and soul.

Special Recognition: I don't own any of the characters only the flow of the plot. I would like to also lay a special thanks for the idea of (Dokushu) from Kairomaru this idea is awesome and thank you for whatever stray thought bought this idea into being it rocks. I will state that though this is my first attempt I do hope it goes well. Thanks and enjoy! Oh also there will be no BELIEVE ITS after this one or excess use of neon orange.

Author Note: This Chapter will be made up of brief explanations of jumps in Naruto's knowledge or times when crucial changes in how he trains happen. I will be having Naruto seek out Gai(Naruto will not be a YOUTHFULL ROBOT) asking for help to find him the perfect style for him. This will lead to the Hummingbird Style (which has been used before but never really explained, so my version will be attacks that rely on super fast precise strikes.) being taught. Also there will be a moment half way through his fourth year in the Academy where he will be taught the _Shadow Clone Justu_ because while studying to learn the regular clones he realizes that he has too much Chakra to ever cast it, I will also use that eventually other ninja's reserves get to large to cast it, this is what convinces the Hokage. Don't worry he only uses it to speed up his study of Fuinjustu and Poisons not realizing he could use it more practically. He will not be super powered by the time of Graduation (low Chunin) but he will have mastered all of the Justus he uses. Academy will be 5yrs from when they are 7-12 using the original teams and class (I am not the god of creativity) To compare to the others, all of the passing Genin will be low to Mid range Genin with Sasuke being a strong Mid range Genin.

Chapter 3

**First Day of Academy**

Naruto wakes up from his alarm clock beeping he quickly turns it off and kicks off his covers. He stretches his muscles for a moment before he heads to get himself a cold shower to wake up fully. He cooks a breakfast that will last him throughout the day until dinner so he doesn't have to bother with making and bringing himself a lunch for later. He is dressed and ready to leave like every day for the past nine months. He heads out for his 2hr morning run around the village. While he runs he ponders 'I wonder what class will be like, will the teachers be fare, will I make friends?' **'Don't worry about things that you have little hope to change anytime soon'** Kyuubi whispers to him. 'Yes I know, I can hope can't I?' Naruto shoots back to his ever present friend. The Kyuubi didn't reply and Naruto got back to completing his run. He gets done and notes to himself how much he has improved in running alone. He gets a more thorough shower to wash off the sweat that had built up during his run. He stops at the mirror to look at himself and notices his body is on his way to becoming perfect, because of Kyuubi's help. 'I will hide everything from them. They will not be able to guess anything about me that is true,' he thought just to assure himself. He looked at the clock and notices it is 7:40am "It's time to go," he says out loud.

He gets to the academy and makes sure to avoid the gathering of parents dropping off their children. He finds his way to class and picks a seat in the back to avoid attention and also to have a complete view of the classroom. Students start to shuffle in that weren't there before him and they find their seats. The teachers come in and Naruto can recognize them from the Hokage's description. The first is Umino Iruka he is an older teen wearing a Chunin jacket and has long brown hair pulled out of his face in a pony tail. The second is a man around the same age named Mizuki, who has long white hair that he keeps down, he carries himself much more seriously than Iruka does at the moment. They step up to the front of the room and welcome them to Ninja academy. They go through the roster of students names, which Naruto recognizes the names of specific clans in them like Aburame Shino, Akimichi Choji, Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, he also noticed the hate filled eyes when they got to his name. He settled in knowing that these teacher were going to be a pain to deal with.

**Year 1 'The realization of being on his own'**

Naruto wakes up every day at 4am so that he can be ready to run for 5-7am. He gets to class at by 8am at which time he goes through the most boring and mind numbingly useless, in his opinion, time of his life. The class starts at 8 and for the most part they are taught about trade agreements, history of the village, and the wars that had ravaged the shinobi world until 2pm. The few days they do go outside all they do is light jogs and exercises that he felt he could of done before he was 5 years old. They do familiarize themselves with shuriken and kunai but that is so rare that it might as well not even mater.

He did get to reflect on how the teachers at the academy treated him with all this down time. He found that Iruka, while the man obviously hated him, was extremely fare to every student no matter who they were. Naruto found that he respected Iruka for that reason and decided that if the man could ever get over his hate they could get along well. Mizuki on the other hand had no redeeming qualities and made it a point to try and teach him wrongly when it came to throwing and holding weapons , how to punch, and even which books he should review for tests. Naruto knew that he would hate this man for the rest of his life and would fight him seriously in class if he needed to.

The day got better when he got to leave the academy. He got to get back to a semblance of intelligent use of his time. He thankfully got books from the Inu-san ranging from the correct books for his studies to scrolls at the intermediate level for stealth, poisons, and information gathering. He also was pleased when he had gotten his writing and Calligraphy to the point that he could seriously start studying Fuinjustu, Inu-san even got him scrolls on beginning seal work.

His day was filled with activity after he got to leave the academy and start studying things that were important. He studied Fuinjustu from 3-5pm, Poisons from 5-7pm, worked on his stealth through Pranks from 7-10pm, and continued his work with Chakra Control from 10pm-12am. His weekends were used to make up for all his wasted time at the academy when he could be making himself stronger, faster, and more flexible with physical workouts that were worth every moment of frustration in that classroom. He also had a breakthrough half way through his first year when he could finally pull forth his poison Chakra quickly without meditation. He also realizes that he will have to be able to identify each poison individually before he can use that poison in battle.

**Year 2 'Help with Taijustu, A hidden face in the Crowd'**

**The First Month**

It had been 1 month since the start of the second year in the academy and Naruto rushes through the village rooftops searching for a certain Jonin. This year in the academy they started to teach all the forms for the academy Taijustu and of course the teacher to teach them was Mizuki. Naruto knew that he was already being taught wrong so no longer took anything that Mizuki told him to heart. He had asked Hokage-jiji who was the best Taijustu master in all the leaf was and that is what lead to his search today.

Naruto had looked all over the village for this particular ninja and had finally found him. Maito Gai was eating lunch with some other ninjas outside at a local restaurant for what had to be a late lunch. He had dark black hair that was cut in a very neat bowl style. He wore a green full body skin tight suite and a Chunin jacket overtop it. He had what looked like orange leg warmers that probably covered his leg weights from what Naruto had heard about the man. He seemed to be a happy good natured man, which went with what jiji had told him the other day.

Naruto new that if he was going to have any hope of mastering a Taijustu style, his best bet was with this man's help. He got up the courage and approached the man and asked, "Excuse me are you Maito-san?"

Maito Gai was enjoying his lunch with two of his fellow ninjas Yuhi Kurenai and Uzuki Yugao. The two women were pleasant to be around and when he ran into them just earlier, he found as a gentleman he needed to escort them to a late lunch as they hadn't eaten. They were discussing their lives as ninja when he heard his name being called by a small voice behind him. "Yes that is me. How can I help you?" he said calmly as he was entertaining ladies and it might not be proper to speak as loudly as he normally did. He turned to find the voice and found a small but well muscled young blond boy. 'The Kyuubi vessel, Uzumaki Naruto, what could he want?" he thought but quickly getting his answer. "Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto and I was told you are the greatest Taijustu Master in all of Konoha." The boy spoke with excited straight forwardness. "I was wondering if you could help me discover the perfect Taijustu style for me." Gai looked at the boy barely able to keep the happiness in check 'A student to finally help lead to becoming a master of their own fighting style.' He simply forgot his earlier way of acing and reverted to his true self "YOSH! A fine young ninja to be asking for aide in the path to Taijustu Mastery, such a YOUTHFUL day I find myself in," he stands and yells with the widest grin on his face. "Yes young Naruto I will help you fan your YOUTHFUL flames and find your true style of combat."

Naruto wasn't sure if he should be scared or elated about the answer from his hopeful future sensei. His happiness over shadowed his slight fear at digesting the answer he had received, "Really you will help that is great!" he yelled back to Gai. "Could we go now so I can show you what I've got." He sees Gai smile brightly again "Yes let us go, we will first start with a 2hr run around the village to gage some of your strengths." They were off leaving a dust cloud in their wake and a worried Kurenai and Yugao to eat their lunch.

While the two new companions ran the older watched the younger carefully. 'He has amazing natural muscle strength and flexibility for such a young age. His stamina is unreal for one of only 8yrs old. He has also been able to keep this same speed for the entire two hours of our run. I wonder if it is a happy benefit from him holding the Kyuubi inside of him?' Gai thought about his new student. "Alright Naruto now that we are done with our run we can stop in that training field and you can show me what else you've got." The young blond smiled and answered "Ok, Gai-sensei once we get there I will have to take off the small amount of weights that I wear during my every day activities." 'The boy has already started to wear small weights to improve himself every day? I have found a dedicated young student who is ready for hard work YOSH!' he screamed in his mind. Gai noticed that Naruto already was wearing ten pound weights on each leg and five on each arm which was a nice easy increase for his young age. "Alright Naruto, I want you to show me how flexible, strong, and how precise your kicks and punches are. I also want you to show me how fast you are with some sprints." The young boy showed him all he had and Gai was amazed. The boy had the body chemistry that was perfect for many Taijustu forms but one came to his mind 'He will master The Hummingbird Style I am sure of it' he thought. The boy had untapped talent and starting him now would be perfect for the young boy. "Alright Naruto after these few hours I believe I know the perfect style for you. I want you to know that I can help you for 3hrs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if I don't have ninja missions to perform. How does that sound?" The boy nearly fell down in happy shock and could only nod his agreement. "YOSH, my student Naruto I will meet you on Monday and I will have the scroll that depicts the style I have chosen for you."

**The Fifth Month**

Naruto stared at his own face in the mirror 'Why is this so hard to get right?' He slowly performed the hand seals and quietly said _Transformation Justu_. He was surrounded by smoke and as it cleared he noticed a not to perfect image of the Hokage looking back at him. He moved his face around to see what was wrong. He sighed 'It's the same as all the other times. The small details get overwhelmed by my Chakra and come out imperfect.' He left his bathroom and went into his sitting room to think about this problem he was having with the new justu that had been covered at the academy a few weeks ago.

Naruto knew that this justu would allow him to do many things, like going to the library, shopping for cloths and weapons, that he had to rely on the Anbu to get done. He also wanted to be able to walk down the streets without having to see the hate filled glares all the time. 'What is happening when I try to do this justu? What makes me different that is making this hard?' He knew that his Chakra was too dense and was causing the image to be overloaded and would fail. He started to think about the hand seals that made up this justu. The different hand seals did different things, some harnessed, controlled, shaped, and even fed Chakra to power the justu. Naruto still being new to the whole performing justu had the innocent thoughts of a child when it came to understanding the creation of justu. 'My Chakra is to dense so I need to harness the extra power. I also have good control but it could be better. I finally need to shape the Chakra into the image and form I want.' He sat up with determination performed the standard hand seals but instead of stopping added three to the end. The last three hand seals were one to harness, one to control, and the last to shape the Chakra used. He quietly said _Transformation Justu_ and the puff of smoke cleared. Naruto slowly walked over to look in a mirror to humor his assumed failure. Naruto gasped when what looked back at him was a perfect likeness of his jiji. He was so astonished that he touched his face and realized he could feel the changes in his skin 'That can't be, this is supposed to be an illusion. How can I feel the changes.' In a panic he let go of the justu and he returned to his original form. He did this new justu a few more times with different faces and found that he truly changed into the image he was trying to mimic. 'I have just created my own _Transformation Justu_ and it is so much better than the original. This is awesome!' Naruto spent the next few hours going through different types of transformation not knowing he was doing something that was assumed impossible by ninja all over the world.

**Year 3 'A Master of Substitution, Seals Solve Some Problems with the Art of Poisons'**

Naruto sits on his floor in his apartment staring at a pillow that is sitting on his couch. 'Ok here we go just form the hand seals and stretch my Chakra over to the pillow. Now snap the Chakra ...' he feels a sliding sensation and smacks his head against the top of the couch "Ouch, shit my head. Wait I am on my couch. YA!" Naruto excitedly jumps up off the couch and celebrates his success. "That was so awesome. I felt like I was sliding really fast while not moving in any direction."

Naruto spends the rest of the day switching places with himself and different things inside his house. He was able to get it down to being able to substitute himself with anything not bolted to the ground. "I wonder how small or big something can be and I still will be able to pull it off." He started to wonder about the possibilities of just how awesome this justu could be. 'Could I switch places with something much smaller than me? Could the object be moving? Could it be a person?' With that last thought he smiled to himself. (Time Skip 2 months) Naruto was in his dark gray cloths and cloak running across the rooftops. He had a perfect prank he wanted to pull on this ass of a villager that had screamed at him about stealing his air that he was breathing. The man was obviously drunk when he said it, but Naruto didn't cut slack for anyone.

The Anbu that was watching over him thought 'What could the kid be planning that would warrant a smile like that?' Rat was one of the Anbu members that was on the same team as Inu-san. The team looked out for Naruto, it did help that the kid was amazingly intuitive when it came to prancing anyone. 'The kid must have something great planned for tonight.' He continued to follow Naruto until the young blond stopped in an alley and started to set something up very quickly. When Naruto was done Rat had to question just what the boy was thinking, 'so he has some rotten food set up to fall, nothing new' he sighed. He saw Naruto move and started to track what looked like one of the stupid male members of the civilian council that always spoke out against Naruto. 'What will you do Naruto? That guy would never walk into this alley.' At that moment he saw Naruto step underneath the trap and spring it. The garbage was about to hit the boy when it suddenly fell onto the someone else. 'Brilliant the kid used the _Substitution Justu_ to switch places with the guy. He has such control over the justu already, I can't wait to tell everyone else on the team.' Rat smiled under his mask as he continued to follow the young blond that made being a member of Anbu very entertaining.

**Half Way Through the Year**

Naruto was sitting in a forested area, sitting on the ground in front of him was a blank scroll. He was excited to test an idea that had come to him a few months ago. He had spent all day, making sure to ditch his Anbu guard for just a few hours, getting the supplies ready for this test. He began the test with brushing a seal onto a flat piece of paper that was similar to paper-bomb paper. He activated the seal with his Chakra and then he started to pull poison to his lungs and blew out a poisonous gas into the seal. He continued this 5 more times and then finished charging the seal. He picked up the seal and examined it for strength. It was holding and now it was time for the next part of the test. He placed the seal back on the ground and stepped away to make sure there was plenty of room so that he could see if it was a success or failure. He released some of his Chakra and the seals on the paper seal released. A cloud of deep putrid gas billowed out and hung around the area for a good 30 seconds. "It worked, I did it!" he quickly took a hold of his emotions and made sure that nobody was around to see. **~Flashback~ ** Naruto again blew out a cloud of poisonous gas from his lungs out in front of himself. The cloud dissipated after getting out from him at about 5ft and was gone 4-6seconds later. 'I don't understand, it doesn't seem to matter how much or little of Poison Chakra I put into the justu. The 4 poison, that attack nose, throat, lungs and eyes, would be perfect in combat if he could get them to go out farther and hang in the air longer.' He starts to walk away from his secluded training clearing that he used when he shook off his Anbu guard to practice in secret. He heads back home deciding that he needed a rest to think with a clear head. Once he gets home he deactivates some of his security seals that keep his home safe. He gets in and picks up one of his scrolls on seal work to get his mind on something else. He sits down with the scroll open on his lap. His eyes open wide and he springs up "That's it, all I have to do is create a seal that stores gas like the ones that store water. My poisons could be stored in the seal in a lot more quantity so that they will hang around a lot longer and not dissipate so quickly. I have to get to work." **~Flashback End~** He smiles and looks at the seal that would make is gaseous poisons a frightful weapon. These seals he would hide from the world and they would bring fear to the name "Dokushu" in years to come.

**Year 4 'Clones That are Really That Awesome, Prank the Anbu "Thank You Inu-san" '**

**2 Months In**

Naruto sits outside on top of the Hokage monument reading some advanced Chakra Theory about the _Clone Justu_. The academy had started his class on this justu when this school year started. He still couldn't do this justu properly and now he knew why. 'This scroll says that people with very large Chakra reserves can't do this justu. It also says that as ninjas grow in strength they will come to a point when they will be unable to do this justu when their own Chakra reserves grow to large. I have to find a different clone technique and fast if I am going to pass next year's graduation test.' He gets up deciding that he needs to ask Hokage-jiji if he could point him in the right direction. He heads off at a run wanting to do this quickly.

Naruto arrives at Hokage tower and enters asking the secretary if the old man was busy. He sits and waits for a few minutes as the Hokage's office empties out as the village council heads leave. He knocks on the door and is given permission to enter. "Hey jiji how are you today."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage, looks up smiling as his thoughts of the previous meeting leave him. 'Naruto, you're always here when I most need you' he smiles to the young blond. "Naruto, my boy, how are you it is good to see you today." They share a hug and discuss about how their days have been and make fun of how stupid the civilian council is sometimes. "So what did you need as I am sure you aren't here to just visit." The young boy gets a bashful look in his eye and face. "You know me too well sometimes jiji. I actually am having some trouble with the standard _Clone Justu_, when I discovered I was having some trouble with it I sought out some more advance theory. My problem came when I read that someone with high Chakra levels will not be able to do this justu. I also think that because my Chakra seems to be denser than other peoples' that this might have something to do with it as well." The wizened Hokage leans back knowing of the theory that Naruto is sighting. He also wonders about Naruto's other statement 'Could the boys Chakra have changed not just his reserves because he has the fox sealed inside him. Youki is far denser then Chakra maybe the combining of the two has caused this change. This explains the hours that the Anbu report of Naruto working on Chakra control.' "Yes, I understand your problem Naruto. So are you here to ask my advice?" The boy nods his head with a look of hope in his eyes. 'There is that clone justu, with the Kyuubi's healing and Naruto's extremely large Chakra reserves, he could become a master of it.' "Inu report now," he says as he moves to his desk and pulls out a very large seal that was previously hidden. He begins doing a few hand seals and opens the scroll. He places a much smaller scroll beside this one and again starts a series of hand seals then says quietly _Information Copy Justu_ and places one hand on both scrolls. He finishes up putting away the first scroll and walks over to Inu. "Inu I want you to take this scroll and Naruto to his apartment. You are then to allow him to study what is written inside, after he is able to perform the justu you are to destroy this scroll." Inu-san takes the scroll and nods his acceptance. "Naruto inside that scroll is the _Shadow Clone Justu_ you are to learn and master this technique, you will find it very helpful. Good luck my boy." The two head out quickly and quietly.

Naruto after a few hours of determined practice finally succeeds in producing a Shadow Clone. 'This justu is amazing the scroll says that not only are the clones solid, but once they are dispelled you remember everything they have seen, heard, or learned. This could speed up my study of seals and poisons by ten or even one hundred times what I could normally do. These will also make the perfect spies and information gatherers.' Naruto smiles and hands the scroll to Inu-san who goes outside and destroys it with a small Fire Justu. "Thanks for the help Inu-san. I will put these clones to good use." "You're welcome Naruto, don't cause to much mischief."

**One Month Before the End of His Fourth Year of School**

Naruto is sitting on a shadowy perch at night close to a very nondescript building inside the village. 'Man that guard that was following me was hard to shake off, thank Kami for the _Shadow Clone Justu_. Now it's time to get settled for the change and shift if I am going to make this prank work.' Naruto leaned back knowing it would be a few minutes until the Anbu that was watching the area, that his entrance was in, would move on. He smiled remembering when jiji had told him, six months ago, that this night would be Inu-sans' last night in Anbu. He had spent that time secretly checking out this building, which was Anbu Headquarters, for great entrances. He had found one 1 month ago and had used his Shadow Clones, transformed into bugs to enter secretly, to check the layout of the building. He had quickly found sensory seals that he had to create seals that would treat him as invisible as long as they are applied to him or his clones. He had found the lockers early and on the night 4 nights before the day he found the Justu Library. He saw the Anbu patrol move and it was time to head out.

An hour later Hayate Kakashi, aka Inu-san, is entering the Anbu Headquarters with his team of 7 other ninjas. They had been quiet until they heard the last of them enter and the door shut. "Hey, captain are we going to the bar to celebrate the last night of you working Anbu." "Ya, we need to take you out, then you can pass the captains seat to me." said a man with a Rat mask on. "Guys we will go out tonight I've already agreed to it, as long as I am not paying," Hayate Kakashi told them. They get to the locker room they all share and finally get to take off their masks. Kakashi goes over to a secluded sink and pulls off both masks and splashes water quickly on his face. He returns his mask, that covers his mouth, back to where it normally rests. He looks at the mirror remembering all the times his team were together, most of the fun and exciting times revolved around a certain blond kid he had helped over the years.

At the same time Naruto switches places with the clone in his apartment flawlessly. He smiles 'Job well done.' He removes a scroll from his pocket and quickly stores it in his most heavily protected seal. The seal required both of his Chakra signatures and blood to open, it was also hidden in a seal that was drawn on his arm so it was always with him. Naruto took a deep breath and let it out, he had entered and done everything he had planned. The icing on the cake was getting copies of 20 Water Justus, which matched his Elemental affinity, and a scroll written by Senju Tobirama, the second Hokage and known for being one of the best in all the lands at Water Justus, about the mastery of Water Manipulation. Naruto had big plans for these scrolls but he would first start with Water Manipulation, because he is a perfectionist and knows only how to learn and master techniques.

Kakashi is walking over to his locker and finds a white box with a card on it. 'Someone got me something' he smiles and opens the card to read. '_Hey Inu-san, I just wanted to thank you for helping me out all these years.'_ the note was followed by a small picture of Naruto giving him the piece sign. The card falls out of his hands and he freezes in panic. 'How did he get in? When did he get in? What is in the BOX?' While Kakashi is thinking this one of his teammates sees his frozen appearance. "Hey, Kakashi you ok." Kakashi answers "The 'Watching Shadow', the name Anbu calls Naruto, has been here." The talking quiets down and everyone starts to feel the atmosphere getting heavy. "Nobody move, I need to remove the box from my locker." Kakashi reaches in and carefully examines the box for traps, he finds none. He places the box on the bench nearest his locker and everyone starts to look over it. "Guys this is weird all I found was a seal that keeps whatever is inside fresh, like a food seal." "I don't trust it." one of the members of the team said. "I agree the kid can be insane when it comes to pranks" another worries. "I am going to open it I trust that it isn't so bad" Kakashi lightly chuckles. He slowly opens and what he finds is a Cake. The Cake read '_HA! I bet you all spent like 5 minutes worrying about what was in the box. It's just a Cake so I hope you enjoy'_ Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief and of course just when that happened they all noticed that there was something written on the bottom of the top of the box. _'I definitely haven't been into the Justu Library while I delivered this Cake. No need to worry.'_ All of the other seven ran to check the damage while leaving Kakashi just starring. He laughed silently while he quickly got dressed. He cut off a piece of cake and left a note telling Rat that he was now in charge and it was his duty to fill out the paper work. He also left a note saying he would see them at the bar, as he walked toward the exit.

**Year 5 'The Falling Leaf Strike Vs Gai-sensei, Everything I Have Accomplished'**

**5 Months In **

Naruto moves quickly through the different training grounds that the Leaf Ninja use to train. He was looking for his mentor in Taijustu Gai-Sensei. 'How has it taken so long to find him? It normally is very easy to ...' "YOSH!" was heard yelled out across the training grounds. 'There he is.' Naruto made his way in the direction that he had heard his Taijustu teacher. He found him in a clearing with his new students that he had taken on about 6 months ago. "Gai-sensei how have you been? Is this your new team of Genin?" Naruto asked the tall man. "Hello, Naruto yes these are my Youthful students." Gai then went into introducing Naruto to his three students. The first was a quiet, to proud for his own good, Hyuga Neji. The second was a young girl named Tenten, that Naruto had to admit was much better than most of the Kunoichi in his class, who was a weapon specialist. The last turned out to be a miniature Gai, Rock Lee who was well on his way to being a master in Taijustu. The introductions were done and Naruto wanted to ask Gai his favor now "Gai-sensei would you allow me to test my new Taijustu move that I have finally finished creating on you?"

Gai was happy to hear that Naruto had kept up his training after he had to stop Naruto's personal training begin training his own team. 'A new original move, Naruto must have worked hard because I know through spars he never used any attack or defense in combat unless he had mastered it. Yes this is a good chance to test him to see how much he has grown in these few months.' "YOSH! You have a new technique to show me young Naruto. I believe I have time while my students finish up their warm-ups, yes lets head over there so we are out of the way." The two ninjas walk over into a wooded area out of sight so that they could start their short spar. "Alright sensei I call it the 'Falling Leaf Strike' and I believe it will impress and may even catch you surprised." Gai sensei smiled always wanting his students to achieve great things. He sees Naruto touch a seal on his upper arm 'A resistance seal, to think he is already so advanced in Fuinjustu.' He knew that Resistance Seals were pretty advanced seals that made the entire body work harder without the need for weights. Naruto pulled out a kunai and quickly threw it towards him but he easily dogged it by jumping back and out of the way. He looked again and saw 4 Narutos in a circle around him. He heard Naruto quietly say _Falling Leaf Strike_ at the same time he noticed that leaves were falling all around him then the Narutos disappeared.

Gai found himself fighting 4 Narutos that were, what appeared to be teleporting in all directions around him. 'Teleporting! No, he is using the _Substitution Justu_ at extremely fast speeds with the leaves that are all around me.' He continued to dodge the attacks, but he was unable to get any strikes in to counter. The attack went on for a brief 20 seconds when Gai saw three of the Narutos lined up that he could knock them out quickly. He went in for the strike and they disappeared when he hit them 'Shadow Clones, but when?' He realized there was an attack coming from an angle to his left and he moved but was unable to dodge completely or defend. Naruto's two fingers drove into the shoulder joint of his arm. The strike was strong and precise as always was the case and it dislocated his arm from the joint. They both quickly moved away from each other and Gai popped the arm back in place not losing the huge smile that was on his face. "YOSH! Naruto, 'Falling Leaf Strike' is a very apt name for that move. You have mastered the _Substitution Justu_ in a way I didn't think possible. I must recommend you continue to get even faster and more precise because this move could one day be able to defeat me completely if you had amazing speed to go along with it. You have made me proud my student." Naruto smiled back at him and Gai new that the young blond would one day, like he hoped for Lee, be far greater than himself.

**The Day Before Graduation**

Naruto is walking up a tree slowly, over the years he had mastered 'Surface Clinging'. He also had one hundred leaves stuck all about him spinning in different directions. He like all things took Chakra Control to a higher level than ninjas before him. Naruto starts to let his mind wonder, not letting go of his Chakra Control training, to all that he had achieved over these years. His skill in Fuinjustu was high Journeyman level, he only needed to find a Master that would take him in and teach him for a few years to finally graduate to Master level. He could only think of one Seal Master in Konoha, Jiraiya the Toad Sage, but that man hadn't been back to the village in a few years. He was probably one of the foremost authorities on poison and antidote creation. His usage of Shadow Clones for the past 1 1/2 years made his knowledge skyrocket in the fields of Poisons and Seals.

He also considers his physical prowess. He was almost positive he was faster, stronger, and more flexible than anyone in his class. The only two he wasn't positive about were Aburame Shino and Nara Shikamaru, those two were the only of his class mates that didn't have their abilities showing like all the others. He considered the two classmates that he liked the most out of all of them. Shino was quiet and collected, Naruto knew that he hid something, which he respected because the Bug User was an ideal ninja in action. Shikamaru on the other had was either being lazy to throw everyone off or he was simply a lazy genius that didn't want to work very hard, either reason the kid was smarter than anyone else in the village except perhaps his own father.

His Genjustu and Ninjustu were on completely different points in his training. His Genjustu was all theory because of his lack of having someone to teach him the very complex mind arts. Ninjustu on the other hand he excelled at. He might not have had a huge library of Justus to use, but the ones he did use he had taken them to a level that very few if any had before him. He also was steadily increasing his mastery over water, he had already completed the first step of mastering water. He could instantly pull the water out of a leaf and pool it in his hands.

Kyuubi's work was still going along as scheduled. Narutos muscles and bones were fare stronger than any of his fellow classmates. His regenerative abilities were so fast that cuts would seal almost immediately and he would not be down for long only needing a very short time to catch his breath. His senses were at the level of a Inuzuka, who were part of a clan that specialized in tracking with their better than human senses. Kyuubi was very happy with his work, though he still had a ways to go and he hadn't told Naruto that once he was done his body would stop aging eventually.

His Chakra Control and Mastery of his Poison Chakra has steadily increased over the years. Naruto may only be to 'Surface Clinging', in the steps to gaining better Chakra Control, but he has taken each step much further than normally done. He is able to split his attention while controlling his Chakra over one hundred time all over his body. He is also able to cling to surfaces for long periods of time without trouble. His Poison Chakra is different, he can produce a number of poisonous gasses from his lungs that use his own creation of 'Gas Seals' to make combat easier. He also can channel many different contact poisons through specially designed Chakra Knives, that easily channel Chakra through them, that he got from Hiruzen. These skills in the use of his Chakra has him on the way of gaining near perfect Chakra Control.

His stealth is legendary, hard earned over years of pranks and ditching his Anbu guard when he needed to train in secret. His abilities in stealth are so good, only known to the Anbu and Hokage, that new upcoming Anbu are told of Naruto's exploits over the years as inspiration and a little bit of fun nervousness. Naruto finishes his day and starts to head home for a early nights rest, so he is ready for the graduation and the day he finally gets to be a ninja.

(Author Notes: Classmates over all skill level)

Sasuke: Mid - High Genin Level

Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru: Mid Genin Level

Chogi, Hinata: Low - Mid Genin Level (Lack of Confidence in both parties and Chogi likes to rely on Shikamaru)

Sakura, Ino: Low Genin Level (because of fangirlism)

**Naruto's Skills Broken Down**

Speed: High Genin - With Restriction Seals; Mid Chunin - Without Seals (Same speed as Lee with his weights, except when Lee opens his Chakra Gates)

Strength: Mid Chunin

Stealth: Anbu Level (This is only because of the need to train in secret, that drove him to obtain these skills)

Taijustu: Low - Mid Chunin (He doesn't have real life and death combat experience though)

Genjustu: Not tested only theory presumed- good at escaping but because of the density of his Chakra it is easily noticed by others

Ninjustu: Mid Genin Level - Library size; but he has Mastered all of his Justus to such a degree that he does them better than anyone around. He only uses Justus that he has Mastered in combat.

**Naruto's Ninjustu List**

_Shadow Clone_- This justu creates solid clones that can attack and help confuse the enemy. The clones have a unique ability that allows them to pass on memories that they gain to the caster. The side effect is that with each clone made it splits the caster's Chakra reserves in half.

_Poison Sludge Clone_- This justu creates solid clones that are made out of a sludge like contact poison. They require a lot of Chakra but when they are destroyed there is the possibility of covering the enemy in a poison that is absorbed through the skin that causes fast acting nerve damage to shut down muscle control.

_True Transformation_- This is Naruto's secret variant of the Transformation Justu. This allows him to change physically into the person, creature, or object of his choice.

_Substitution_- This justu allows the caster to quickly trade places with a object, person, or creature of casters choice. Changing places with something that uses Chakra is far harder but can be done if you overwhelm the enemies Chakra strength.

_Poison Knife Tips_- Naruto uses his Poison Chakra and covers his Chakra Knives with them. These poisons can effect nerve signals, muscle response, and even disrupt the Chakra usage of a cut enemy.

_Poison Gas Seals_- These are the seals that allow Naruto to store his poisonous gasses he produces from his lungs in greater quantities. They allow him to use these gasses in combat where without the gasses would dissipate to quickly before they are effective.

**Over all Level**__

Low - Mid Level Chunin in Combat (because of his lack of experience and true fighting)

High Chunin - Low Jonin in surprise attacks were the enemy is caught unaware of his presence (Naruto can take extreme advantage of surprise situations with his deadly skills in planning in detail or in the heat of combat) in those few short seconds Naruto truly shines.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: The ninja must master many skills throughout his career, be it assassination, stealth, speed, and strength(of the Mind and Body). The Kyuubi No Yoko comes to a realization that if he is to survive the soul he is now linked to must live and for that to happen he must aide the one that controls the body that houses his power and soul.

Special Recognition: I don't own any of the characters only the flow of the plot. I would like to also lay a special thanks for the idea of (Dokushu) from Kairomaru this idea is awesome and thank you for whatever stray thought bought this idea into being it rocks. I will state that though this is my first attempt I do hope it goes well. Thanks and enjoy! Oh also there will be no BELIEVE ITS after this one or excess use of neon orange.

Author Notes: I must apologize for my work on the day of graduation and work with stopping Mizuki. I find it dull to discuss that point in the story. Also Naruto's friendship with Shino and Shikamaru is just that friendship. There is no gay relationships in my story 'Not that there is anything wrong with that sexual orientation'. I just wanted to explain this because the way I worded it, there seems to be some wording issues. Naruto just relates well with Shino because of Shino's 'Hive Bonding' that his clan utilizes. Also you will find this Chapter lacks the Detail I normally would put into my stories during graduation, the Mizuki incident, and the week between. I would say that these are just overview sections but mostly I want to get to Naruto Being a Ninja quickly. I apologize and promise that my stories will continue to have the details that I normally implement after this Chapter. I do want to thank you for the reviews and say thanks Kakashi is once again Hatake.

Author Forewarning: Naruto will not start mastering Water Justus until the Chunin exam break when he meets Jiraya. Also I am playing around with the idea of Naruto signing the Toad Contract or not. I just want to say that if he doesn't he won't be a sage later on. Also Manda of the snakes is evil and Naruto doesn't sacrifice people sorry. Naruto though will be learning to summon Kyuubi into a physical form during the Jiraya Training Years so look forward to that. To Sage or not to Sage that is the question I am faced with later on, "It is really awesome, so it will be hard to get rid of." I am also going to say that with school starting back up that I will be limited to updating once a week, Probably on Sunday.

Chapter 4

**The Day of Graduation**

Naruto is up running through his form in Taijustu. He is thinking about what he should show in this final test that he must take. He decides that its best to keep up appearances and he should get just enough to pass. He also starts to wonder how his teachers will be dividing the test up and who will be responsible for which parts. He thinks that it would be best if Iruka was in charge of the written portion. He starts to remember the day he and Iruka finally got rid of the misunderstanding between them. It was during his third year that they had struck up a conversation during lunch one day. He remembers that it was really easy to talk to the Chunin that was the fairest of his instructors. He knew that Iruka didn't hate him but the fox inside him. After a few months of having lunch, every few day, together he saw that Iruka stopped looking at him with hatred. He would even offer advice on how to study better for class. He know knew that he thought of Iruka as an older brother or cousin that looks out for him. He starts to head to the academy for hopefully his final test.

Naruto arrives at the academy and enters the classroom. He sees one of his friends Shino sitting in the back of the classroom and goes to sit next to him. Naruto greets him and they exchange pleasantries. Naruto while sitting beside Shino feels something on his hand he sees a Kikaichu, one of Shino's symbiotic bugs that he and his clan use as ninja. Naruto than remembers his first encounter with the Chakra eating bugs that the Aburame clan utilize. He had been immediately drawn to Shino because the others in class thought he was weird since he was bonded with his hive. Naruto found the bugs fascinating and after the two classmates had struck up a friendship he had allowed Shino's Kikaichu, while they were in class, to sample his Chakra since he had so much he never really noticed the drain on his Chakra. He also thinks fondly of when early this year Shino had informed him that since his bugs had started to eat his dense structured Chakra it had changed them. Shino had told him that his hive is able to drain Chakra faster from others since they adapted to the difficulty of draining Naruto's Chakra. Naruto enjoyed the simple quiet friendship that he had with Shino and hoped that it would prove to continue after they graduate. Naruto then notices his other friend in the class Shikamaru. The lazy genius sits next to them and lays his head down to take a nap. Naruto laughs inside his head at how Shikamaru will never change no matter what. Naruto knows that like him Shikamaru doesn't show anything of his true potential. He also knows that Shikamaru has made it his life's goal to do as little as possible of what he calls "Troublesome Work". Naruto then sees that the rest of the class is there and that his teachers Iruka and Mizuki arrive.

Naruto is sitting waiting for his name to be called so that he can take the last test, the test of Ninjustu, so that he can graduate. 'I know that someone put that Genjustu on my written test and no-one else had one on theirs. I did get to test the theories that I had read about dispelling Genjustu though so I guess there is something gained from this. Now all I have to do is pass this last test and I graduate.' Naruto knows that he has done just well enough to pass and he has not showed anything that would be considered amazing to bring attention to himself. Naruto sees Iruka walk in and check his list "Naruto it's your turn." Naruto gets up and heads to the side room. Iruka then tells him that he must perform the three required Justus Transformation, Substitution, and Clone. Naruto then proceeds to Transform into the Hokage. He switches places with a chair. He then creates two shadow clones not giving any indication that they are anything but regular clones. Iruka smiles and congratulates him for passing. He then hands Naruto his 'Ninja Forehead Protector', which shows that he is a Ninja of the Leaf, and Naruto thanks him and leaves. A hour later Naruto is waiting outside the classrooms with the other graduates to see how they rank against their fellow classmates. Iruka comes out and congratulates all of the students that pass. He then posts the scores and reminds them that next week they must report for team assignments. Everyone swarms the board to see how they rank. Naruto and Shikamaru approach after everyone else has looked at their scores. They both find their scores remembering that to pass completely you must at least get an average 7/10 in your complete score. Naruto sees that he got at 7/10 he then smiles when he sees that Shikamaru got a 7.3/10. "Ya, I did less work then you did." "Troublesome I was sure I didn't work any harder than I had to." "Well, it looks like you are on your way to becoming a brilliant ninja Shikamaru. You will be put on all of the hardest missions with scores like that." Naruto laughs and pats him on the back "You will be given all the responsibility fitting a ninja of your talents." Naruto leaves Shikamaru mumbling about how troublesome his life was going to be.

Naruto is stealthily moving through the village in the direction of the Hokage's office in hopes to prank the old man to celebrate his graduation. He is on his way there and he is planning to get the old man by exploiting Hiruzen's perverted weaknesses. He spots Mizuki leaving from the window of the office carrying a large scroll on his back. 'No one is aloud in the Hokage's office this late at night and if they were they would be escorted out by Anbu. He must have done something he is not suppose to have done.' He sees the Hokage run out the front of his office building at the same time as a loud alarm sounds. "Chunin Mizuki has broken into my office and stolen the 'Forbidden Scroll'. Track him down and capture him at once. Bring him back alive and have him taken to Ibiki, telling him to not be kind to this traitor. Move Out" The Hokage ordered the gathered ninja. The ninja moved quickly in all directions. Naruto heads out thinking 'I know which direction he was going, I should help. Jiji did command everyone present to capture the traitor.' he smiles thinking of this being the night of his first mission.

Naruto is moving quickly through the forest fallowing Mizuki's sent. He stops when he hears some voices and moves quietly to get a better look. "Iruka did you really think you could stop me? I will take this scroll to Orochimaru-sama and be reworded as promised. Now die quickly so I can get going." Naruto sees Iruka on the ground injured and Mizuki moving in for the kill. He reacts on instincts, moving swiftly and intercepting Mizuki's attack with one of his own. He kicks Mizuki square in the chest hearing ribs breaking from the impact. Naruto quickly moves to cover Iruka "Iruka-sensei are you alright?" not taking his eyes off of Mizuki. "Naruto! What?" Iruka stammers completely shocked that Naruto had arrived and saved him. "That hurt you IDIOT!" Mizuki yelled. "Shut up you traitor, you will not hurt Iruka-sensei and you will be handing over that scroll that you stole." "HAHA! It is so funny to hear you voicing loyalty when no-one in the village likes you. You are hated and don't even know why, yet you are still loyal. Don't you wonder why they hate you Naruto?" 'Is this my chance to have a excuse of knowing about Kyuubi? What a happy accident I have stumbled upon. Ok Naruto straight face.' "You know? Tell me know!" Naruto made his face full of anger and innocent hope. "You can't it's against the law," Iruka yelled. "What law, what can't I be told." "That twelve years ago, when the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked he didn't die. No on that day it was sealed in you by the Fourth Hokage, you are the Nine Tailed Fox. You are the Demon that attacked the village." Naruto adopted a face of shock "No you lie, I am not a Demon." yelling back at Mizuki. "Ha, it is the truth. Now you know why the villagers treat you like dirt and curse your existence." "Even if what you say is true," a second Naruto swiftly appears behind Mizuki striking him hard in the neck. Mizuki falls forward unconscious. "I am not a Demon," Naruto quickly secures the scroll while the Shadow Clone next to Iruka disperses. "Come on Iruka-sensei let us get this traitor and scroll back to the Hokage." While the two leave together a old man watches from his office smiling "Well done Naruto you handled that very well. Anbu inform the men that everything is being taken care of." Hiruzen sees two Anbu ninja leave, 'Now it is time for a talk Naruto. I hope it goes well."

(Author Note: Naruto and the Hokage discuss the new knowledge of Kyuubi. Naruto asks many questions but in the end reaffirms his desire to be the best ninja. Hokage does not know that Naruto already knew about the Kyuubi. Naruto and Kyuubi believe it is safer not telling anyone about their symbiotic relationship until he is much stronger.)

**The Week Between**

**First Day**

Naruto woke up much later than normal that morning. He had a long night talking to Hokage-jiji about the Kyuubi sealing. Naruto knew that he had been quite convincing in that conversation and the Hokage didn't know that he already knew about Kyuubi. He was leaving his apartment an hour later ready to get some things done to prepare for his placement on a ninja team. He sets his protection seals to active on his apartment as he leaves to keep his home safe. He turns from his front door and applies his _True Transformation_, to look like someone else with the same physical measurements. He had some cloths to buy.

He arrives at a ninja supplies and clothing store a few minutes later. He walks in and starts to head towards the clothing section to pick out new cloths. He is first pulled to a section that had many body length cloaks for sale. He finds one style that he likes, it is a full length cloak that reaches to just below his knees, it has plenty of room so that he can move freely, it has a hood to shield his face from view, and most importantly it will keep his hands hidden from view during battle. He takes the dark gray cloak and three more just like it before he heads to the other clothing sections. His search is rewarded with him finding new low impact sandals for stealth, pants that allow for all ranges of movement, sleeveless shirts that are tight against his skin but don't impede his movement, and three Chunin style jackets. They are all a dark gray coloring that goes well with his cloaks.

He then heads towards the weapon and supplies section to restock on a few items. He grabs 4 weapon and supplies pouches, 4 blank scrolls for sealing, 2 standard Chunin weapon kits, and 2 medical kits. He checks any of the scrolls for techniques or information on seals and of course finds nothing of interest. He walks up to the counter to purchase his goods. He has the money from all of his money saved since he hasn't needed to pay for food all these years.

He gets back home and lays out his purchases to get them ready for combat and mission use. He first grabs his cloths and brings them into his room and makes three Shadow Clones and tells them to apply these seals on them. He hands them each a list of the seals to apply to his new cloths, the list is whether protection (to keep him dry from rain or snow), drying seal (to dry him instantly), mild flame retardant, and temperature comfort (to keep him comfortable in all the seasons). The Clones nod and start to get to work. He returns back to his living room and starts to get his other supplies ready. He grabs two of the blank scrolls he purchased sets them aside and makes a mental reminder that they are to keep his extra sets of cloths and a months' supply of preserved food. He goes over and grabs one of his weapon kits, both of his medical supplies, and one of the remaining scrolls. He starts to seal these extra supplies away so that he has them in case of an emergency. He looks at his weapons and weapon pouches and divides them evenly. He also goes to one of two blood and Chakra seals he has on his arm and releases a large scroll. This scroll has all of his personally created or perfected seals listed, it also has a large supply of his different _Poison Seals_ and his personal exploding seals inside. He takes them out and starts to organize his weapon pouches so that each is perfectly balanced and ready for quick use. He finishes this and starts to cook dinner while his clones finish up the long process of applying seals to his cloths.

**The Rest of the Week**

He uses this week for training and preparing himself for the life as a ninja. He does all of his normal physical training, and creates clones to work on his Fuinjustu study and preparing meals to be preserved for later use. While his clones are doing all of his studying he uses this time to expand to the next step of Chakra control after 'Surface Clinging' which is 'Water Walking' and working on his 'Water Manipulation' steps listed in the scroll from Senju Tobirama (the Second Hokage).

Naruto is standing near a small lake preparing for another attempt at 'Water Walking' he steps out and his foot clings to the surface. He smiles and places his second foot beside the first 'Water standing is a success' he thinks to himself. He slowly moves his feet and starts to walk across the water until after his tenth step he falls in. His head pops up and he curses the water for not doing it right and allowing him to walk upon it. He berates the water for a few more minutes and after he is sure he has verbally abused the water long enough he gets back to work.

Naruto is sitting in a clearing working on his 'Water Manipulation' skills. After a year and a half Naruto is ready to move to the next step listed in the scroll. He is now able to quickly and efficiently remove the water from a leaf with his Chakra alone. He begins to work on the next step 'Area Draining', this step is just like the first one except one must drain water from all of the plant life around him at the same time. He quickly realizes that he has already achieved one of the first requirements to achieve mastery over this step. Throughout his years of training he has developed the ability to split his awareness many times when it comes to using his Chakra. He settles down not realizing that these steps to mastering 'Water Manipulation' are thought to have been only capable for Senju Tobirama to utilize. Naruto is on his way to becoming a water master on the scale of the Second Hokage.

He finishes the week with Mastering 'Water Walking' to the point that he could now easily fight on the surface for hours. He has also taken the training further and walks on his finger tips while spinning hundreds of leaves all about himself. His 'Water Manipulation' is progressing fine, after only this week he is already able to drain water from 5 leaves just as quickly as he was able to drain one. Naruto is excited to know who his teammates will be, but even more excited to finally have a Jonin-sensei that will be able to help with some of the questions he has on being a ninja. He goes to bed full of excitement for the day that tomorrow will bring.

**Teams Being Assigned**

Naruto wakes up and gets dressed in his new cloths and eats his breakfast that he had a Clone make for him. He starts off towards the Academy to find out who his teammates will be. He arrives seeing that most of the seats are already taken. He approaches Shino, Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji, who is one of Shikamaru's friends, noticing that there are no seats available next to them. Naruto wonders why he never developed a deeper friendship with the kind Choji and vows to attempt to in the near future. "Hey guys you ready for this. 'The Day We Become the Strength of Konoha' as Iruka-sensei always called it." Naruto asks the three of them with a smile. The three ninjas look up seeing Naruto's new look with approval. "Nice look Naruto you will be promoted way before me with those cloths." Shikamaru says with a wry smile. Naruto chuckles, "Nah, cloths won't make up for my scores as a ninja. Yours on the other hand will have you being a squad commander in no time." Naruto laughs again at Shikamaru's pensive face. "No, don't curse me with that 'Troublesome' thought." Shikamaru says before laying his head down on the desk while Choji and Shino chuckle.

Naruto looks around and notices that the only seat that isn't located with all of the 'Villagers pretending to be Ninjas' was near Uchiha Sasuke. 'Oh great I get to sit by Sasuke, Uchiha's are the best and I will brood about it, Uchiha. I bet this decision will just come to bite me on the ass later.' Naruto quietly takes the seat next to Sasuke, who doesn't even acknowledge his presence. 'I really can't stand this guy and his spouting off about how great his clan is. It's gone you idiot get over yourself.' A few minutes later he hears noise coming from the hall. 'Oh great I knew this would be the wrong decision and I set myself up for this.' Haruno Sakura, a pink haired ninja that has a unhealthy attraction to Sasuke, and Yamanaka Ino, a blond that needs to realize she is embarrassing her clan with her 'Fangirlism', come storming in arguing about who had won their race to class. Sakura notices that he is sitting next to Sasuke and starts to walk over. 'Oh here it comes quickly clog ears.' Naruto very quickly under his cloak puts ear plugs in his ears just in time. "NARUTO-BAKA get out of that seat so I can sit next to Sasuke," Sakura screeches at him causing the class to cover their ears in pain. 'God I can still hear her,' he notices Ino moves quickly taking the seat on the other side of Sasuke. 'Wow, I didn't think either of them would notice that Sasuke was sitting in the middle and there was a free seat open. Now the real question is should I get up or ignore Sakura? ... IGNORE' "Did you hear me BAKA." She makes a fist and starts to swing it toward Naruto's head. At this time 'She is going to hit me. I can't let that go.' he smirks. Her fist is about to hit him and he quickly switches places with Sasuke. Sasuke gets hit and his head smashes into the desk, before anyone can question what happened Naruto switches back to his original seat. '_Substitution Justu_ got to love it.' he praises the justu. Everyone is silent for a moment until most of the guys in the class start to laugh loud and hard. Sasuke is coming around, just when Iruka comes into the class, he glares daggers at Naruto and Sakura. "SIT DOWN AND SHUTUP" Iruka yells at the class which quickly gets everyone's attention. "Today is the day you start your Ninja careers and start to put your lives on the line for the village. You will bring . . . . . . " Iruka starts to talk with a extra helping of stretching it out far more than it needs. "Alright Team Seven is Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura your team sensei is Hatake Kakashi. Team Eight is Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino your team sensei is Yuhi Kurenai. Team Nine is still in circulation so Team Ten is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji your team sensei is Sarutobi Asuma." 'No, not the emo and fan girl. I am doomed to a life of daily annoyance.' Everyone in the room had different opinions about their teams some voiced them in unintelligible yells and screams.

Nearly three hours later Team Seven is still waiting for their sensei to show up. 'I am so glad I brought something to read during this wait. I wonder where Kakashi-sensei is and why he is late.' Naruto notices that his two teammates aren't holding up nearly as well as him. "Where is he all the other teams were picked up hours ago." Sakura yells at nobody. Sasuke answers only with a "Hn" though it is plain to see that he is also annoyed. 'Ninjas are patient you stupid Howler Monkey.' Naruto quietly berates her. A few minutes later the door opens up "Yo, is this Team Seven." A tall silver haired, mask wearing, Cyclops comes in greeting them. 'Wait, I know this sent. That is Inu-san.' Naruto smiles at the newly identified ninja who smiles back. 'He knows. Well this should be fun.' Kakashi thinks to himself than says, "Meet me on the roof you have five minutes."

The team is assembled on the roof together. "Ok, as a team we should get to know each other so tell everyone your likes, dislikes, and dreams of the future." Kakashi said. "Sensei what do you mean? Could you give us an example." Sakura says. 'NO she can't be serious. She is.' This thought was shared between the males of the team. "Sure why not. Well I'm Hatake Kakashi and my likes and dislikes well. . . . . you don't need to know. My dreams of the future . . . . . Well I have plenty of hobbies. There your turn pinky." Sakura bristles at the name but answers "I am Haruno Sakura and my likes are" she looks at Sasuke and blushes " My dreams for the future" she blushes again. "My dislikes . . . . Naruto-baka." she says with a frown towards Naruto. "OK, You with the droopy eyes." pointing at Sasuke. "Hn, I am Uchiha Sasuke. I like very few things and dislike even more. My dream for the future is more of an ambition. I will reform my clan and Kill a curtain man." Sasuke says with hate in his voice. "Fine, and you Blondie." Naruto smiles at him "Oh, I am Uzumaki Naruto. I like to train and study Poisons and Fuinjustu. I dislike people that can't see past their own ignorance. My dreams are to be the strongest there ever was and to find someone that will grow old and have a family with me." 'Ok, so I have a fan girl, a avenger one-a-bee, and Naruto who seems to have grown a little since I left Anbu.' "Ok, it's great to meet you now to tell you what happens from here on. You three will meet me at 7am at training ground Seven tomorrow for a test." "What test we already Graduated?" Sakura Shouts. "Oh" he laughs, "You guys will love this. No you aren't Genin yet. You have to pass one more test that has a 66% fail rate. Out of the 27 graduates only 9 will become Genin. So come tomorrow prepared to work hard and I wouldn't eat breakfast or you're going to PUCK. See-ya." He disappears leaving two shocked faces and one blond that had a evil smile on his face that showed understanding.

**Testing to be Genin**

Naruto finds himself at training ground 7 with his teammates Sasuke and Sakura. It is 10am and there is no Kakashi-sensei. 'Damn I bet he does this all the time. 3hrs just like yesterday, if he shows up any moment . . ' Kakashi appears in a puff of smoke "Yo". 'Ok, so he is just going to be 3hrs late. I can deal with that, if we pass I will always assume he is going to be this late.' Naruto smiles to himself standing up from his seated position. "You're Late," Sakura yells. 'Man does she ever speak quietly' Naruto and Kakashi wonder silently. "Sorry, I got lost on the road of life when I looked into the sky this morning and thought I saw a cloud in the shape of a dog." "LIAR" "Yes . . . well anyways let's get this test started." Kakashi places a alarm clock on a stump near where they had been waiting. "You have until noon to get one of these bells from me to pass." he takes two bells of his pocket shows them than secures them to his belt. 'He has dropped his guard for now' Naruto thinks. He quickly moves his hands under his cloak and draws a senbon, a throwing needle, and a smoke bomb from one of his ninja pouches. He also quickly forms a Shadow Clone while simultaneously transforming it into a bell just like the ones Kakashi showed them. 'Now to wait.' "But sensei there are only 2 bells?" Sakura queries. "Yes, one of you will not get a bell and fail. That ninja will be tied to the stump while they watch me enjoy my lunch. Those who fail will also be sent back to the Academy." Sakura and Sasuke's stomachs growl while Naruto's doesn't. "Naruto I thought I said not to eat breakfast yesterday?" Kakashi questions the young blond. "No, you advised us not to eat. You didn't command us, who would be stupid enough not to come fully energized for a test that you said decided if we were going to be Genin." he smiles back at Kakashi, while Sasuke and Sakura glare at him. "Yes well, it is time to start NOW!" The three Genin start to disperse and Naruto acts. He throws a smoke bomb while simultaneously throwing the senbon and cuts the string that is holding one of the bells. He swiftly uses the _Substitution Justu_ to switch his transformed bell and the real bell. The clone stays attached to Kakashi's side while Naruto moves away. 'Success! You shouldn't ever drop your guard around me Kakashi-sensei. That year and a half has dulled your senses Inu-san.'

Kakashi wonders the training ground 'They have hidden their selves very well. I can't even sense where Naruto is.' "Hey Kakashi lets do this!" Naruto lands in front of him. 'This isn't like Naruto. Maybe he is worried about not getting a bell and it has clouded his judgment.' Kakashi ponders while two others think 'What an idiot.' "Ah Naruto you're a little bit weirder then the others." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a orange book. "Come at me whenever." Naruto frowns "Why do you have that?" pointing at the book. "Oh I need to read to find out the ending. No need to worry, come at me with everything you've got. I don't think it should change anything." A second Naruto appears and the first places what appears to be a seal on its back. 'He didn't form any hand seals when he made that Shadow Clone. What are you up to?' The Clone runs straight towards him and jumps into the air right above him. He follows it with his eye until it explodes raining leafs around him. "What was that Naruto you trying to . . " Four Narutos were around him. 'When did he?' The four Narutos quietly said "Falling Leaf Strike." He suddenly was defending himself from teleporting Narutos all around him. 'What the Fuck is this?' He drops his book and starts to block blows, but when he goes to attack the target is already moved and he is defending another attack. 'Substitution! He can do it this fast and with such accuracy.' He blocks and quickly disperses 3 clones but realizes that the fourth is going for a bell. 'Crap I have to block.' He lifts up his leg to block and Naruto's strike hits him in the knee dislocating it from the socket. 'Fuck that hurt' he screams in his mind while he quickly pops it back into place. Naruto also moved out of range keeping his eyes on Kakashi. "You dropped your book Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a smirk and quickly moves out of site. 'What was that? Is this an original move that he created. It was kind of terrifying for a moment there. Good Sweat Kami, Sensei your son almost embarrassed me right there.' While he was screaming at himself for underestimating Naruto the two other Genin hopefuls had wildly different thoughts. 'What was that attack? Was that really Naruto? _CHA Sasuke is still Better!' _Sakura battled with herself. 'What is this? Naruto can't be that good. It's a fluke, he is not better than me an Uchiha.'

Naruto moves through the forest 'That was fun. Kakashi isn't nearly as fast as Gai-sensei. Though he didn't have his secret weapon unleashed. He is probably yelling at himself because I forced him to drop his book in surprise.' He continues his search for his other teammates to get them to work together. 'Hopefully they agree. I mean it is obviously a trick to see if we work together. I mean honestly who has ever heard of a squad with only 2 Genin and a Jonin before.' He quickly spots Sakura and sends a clone in her direction while he goes to find Sasuke.

The Shadow Clone of Naruto approaches Sakura quietly and asks "Hey Sakura you ok." Sakura freezes and almost jumps when she hears Naruto's voice. "Baka what are you doing here? Go away before you ruin my chances in succeeding and being on this team with Sasuke." She said quietly. "Sakura we need to work together that is the only way we can be victorious." "Go away and leave me alone IDIOT." 'Well that didn't work, the Boss is probably right, these guys are idiots.' The Clone dispels itself sending the answer to the original who was talking to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, hey we need to work together to get the bells from Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke grimaces and says, "I am an Uchiha, I don't need help from some 'Bottom of the Class' ninja." Naruto gets the info from his clone 'Wow, neither of them even thought about it before they left. Ya, I was right they are idiots.'

Kakashi was waiting by the alarm as it went off. 'Well that's it a team that fails what a big surprise. I had Sakura who failed to detect the Genjustu I placed on her, even though she was scored as number one in that field, and she passed out. I also have Sasuke, I am too good for help so I fail, Uchiha. It was funny when I buried him up too his neck, though he is far superior to Sakura.' He smiles at what he did too those two Academy Graduates. 'Naruto though was amazing. He obviously figured out the main purpose of the test when he went to ask them to work together. He is amazing at the _Substitution Justu_ and his strikes were powerful. His training under Gai has worked out for the best.' The three ninjas approached and Kakashi quickly tied Sakura to the stump before she could even complain. "WHY AM I TIED TO THE STUMP?" Sakura yelled/screeched. Rubbing his ears "Well to be honest you showed me the least skills out of the three of you. You failed to detect the low level Genjustu I placed on you. All you did was pass out." Sakura went red and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "Well you guys didn't pass none of you got a bell." "Kakashi-sensei what are you talking about I got one." Naruto said while pulling out a bell from under his cloak. Kakashi looked down at the bells on his waist only to see one disappear. 'When did he get it? It wasn't when he attacked me, so it had to be when he ...' "You got it at the begging when you threw the smoke bomb," he said full of amazement. "How!" "I cut it with a senbon and substituted a transformed Shadow Clone in its place." 'Impossible the idiot couldn't have gotten a bell, when I an Uchiha couldn't. He isn't better than me.' "Naruto-baka you cheated, you could never get a bell if I or Sasuke couldn't have," Sakura said. "Well obviously he succeeded Sakura, he has it in his hand. Cheating is part of the game we ninjas play, not that Naruto cheated in anyway. I guess you pass Naruto though the others failed so I will have to send you three back to the academy." Sasuke and Sakura were astonished that even though Naruto got a bell he would have to go back to the Academy as well. "NO! Pass Naruto he at least got a bell." Sasuke said surprising both Naruto and Kakashi. "Yes he at least succeeded in the test he should pass," agreed Sakura. "WOW! Even though they don't truly get the point of the test, they are showing that they can work as a team." Naruto smiled at Kakashi. 'He is right, that alone is almost making me speechless.' "You are right Naruto, I shouldn't punish you if they are showing signs of understanding. You two, the purpose of this test was to see if you could work as a team no matter the challenge. Though you didn't truly get this part of your test, since you announced your willingness to fail to aide another on your team you have showed me enough that I can hope. Team Seven You Pass!" Kakashi said eye smiling and cutting down Sakura. "I must go to report your success meet here at 7am tomorrow." Before he could disappear he heard Naruto quietly say "I see you at 10."

Team Seven was leaving the training ground when Sasuke finally had enough. "Hey DOBE (Means Dead Last), you will fight me so I can show you that some lucky no name bottom of the class is not better than me an Uchiha Elite." Naruto didn't even turn to acknowledge him. "Sasuke do you know how hard it is to purposely get the lowest score I could and still graduate." Naruto finally looked over his shoulder at the angry Sasuke and smirked. "You have never been better than me throughout the Academy. You have always been second best." Naruto said disappearing and leaving a shocked Sakura and a livid Sasuke. 'He isn't better than me. He isn't!'

Authors Final Note:

Calendar for Ninja Events

3 months until "Mission to Wave"

6 months until "Chunin Exams"

Added event

2 months until Naruto asks for "C-Rank Hunt" (Which is just a mission that works for Genins to get their first kill against some low level bandits.)


End file.
